More than 300 guests welcomed the Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark when it arrived in Timor-Leste’s port capital Dili in September.
Dockside were president Jose Ramos-Horta and defence force chief Lieutenant-General Falur Rate Laek. A Chinese defence website noted with satisfaction fulsome praise by the Timorese leaders for the Beijing visitors ahead of a week-long ‘hearts and minds’ charity mission.
It was the hospital ship’s second visit to Dili and the fourth by a Chinese Navy vessel to Timor-Leste, one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries and a half-island nation of 1.5 million just 500 kilometres from Australia’s northern capital, Darwin.
A quick check reveals China’s aid program in Timor-Leste is extensive. It includes military equipment (patrol boats), funding for defence and foreign ministry offices, power station construction, road building and housing for war veterans in addition to loan offers under its controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The Dili visit mirrors a pattern of influence building by China among Australia’s Pacific neighbours – actions designed to woo new friends and alienate old ones at a time of growing strategic restiveness and competition in the Asia-Pacific.
Beijing’s ‘wolf warrior’ push into the South Pacific contesting American influence is ringing alarm bells in Canberra and Washington, which are hypersensitive about Chinese military ambitions in the region. Over the past two decades, China’s People’s Liberation Army has evolved into a very capable modern military – one able to pose significant challenges to US operations, a development turbocharging Canberra’s great northern defensive shift.
The Australian Defence Force’s new geographical focus is a vast area stretching from the northeast Indian Ocean, through maritime and mainland south-east Asia to Papua New Guinea and the south-west Pacific, a move which underpins the strategic importance of two northern anchors, Darwin and Townsville, into which hundreds of millions of US and Australian defence dollars is now being poured.
Addressing “significant changes to Australia’s strategic circumstances”, the National Defence Strategic Review (DSR) released in April called for an urgent defence shake-up and an increase in funding to cover new and upgraded defence capability warning the ADF is unfit for purpose to meet potential threats.
“Australia must have a fully integrated and more capable ADF operating across five domains (air, sea, land, cyber and space) which work seamlessly together on joint operations to deliver enhanced and joined-up combat power,” the review warned.
The report – enthusiastically endorsed by the Albanese government – prioritised a list of defence requirements for the ADF to improve its ability to operate from the north and meet the looming challenges posed by changed strategic circumstances in the region.
Navy needs “enhanced lethality” to be provided by a new generation of conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines, while Army should be optimised for littoral (nearshore) operations in the northern land and maritime spaces and be able to provide a long-range strike capability. Air Force will be tasked to support joint operations in the north, it said.
But after its initial endorsement, there is growing unease at government tardiness in implementing the review’s findings, including funding for the AUKUS nuclear submarine program.
“The core problem is that our nuclear-powered submarines will require an additional $368 billion in defence funding over the next 20-30 years. But they are unfunded. Paying for them and other enhancements flagged in the DSR (defence strategic review) won’t be possible without a major sustained increase in the defence budget,” warned Dr Alan Dupont, CEO of political and strategic risk consultancy Cognoscenti Group, and one of Australia’s leading defence and national security strategists.
“An unwillingness to back the review’s sober rhetoric with real money is undermining the government’s national security credentials at home and abroad. It now threatens to hollow out a defence force struggling to do more with less,” he said.
Funding delays carry significant implications for the Northern Territory and its vital role as a support and forward operating base, for the ADF, our allies and defence partners, Dupont told The Mandarin.
Following recent AUSMIN talks, the Top End – which hosts an annual ‘dry season’ rotation of 2,500 US Marines – will see an increase in American military activity, including warship visits and the deployment of up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers.
To meet growing fuel demand, the US military is building a $270m bulk fuel storage, 11 tanks capable of holding a 300 million litre reserve at Darwin’s East Arm, the biggest fuel storage facility in the NT. A second Australian bulk fuel farm is under construction nearby at a cost of $60 million.
A big upgrade is underway at RAAF Base Tindal 320 km south of Darwin, US-military funding that covers aircraft hangers and an ammunition bunker for the giant B-52s which will be soon staging there. Work is also underway at Darwin’s RAN patrol boat base at HMAS Coonawarra where a new 250-metre-long wharf is under construction to improve northern defence maritime capability.
In line with DSR recommendations, the role of the Army’s 2nd Division will focus on the defence of Australia’s north and offshore territories.
“We must generate, deploy and then sustain security and response task units to protect key areas in Australia’s north,” 2nd Div Commander, Maj-Gen David Thomas said.
The Top End is more than just a joint defence training ground. All three ADF services are represented in Darwin, Navy at HMAS Coonawarra, headquarters Northern Command at Larrakeyah, Army’s 1st Brigade at Robertson Barracks, and Air Force at RAAF Base Darwin and Tindal and the secretive Shoal Bay signals intelligence gathering facility north-east of Darwin and Pine Gap near Alice Springs.
Today, the Northern Territory is home to more than 6,000 defence personnel, including ADF and public service employees. This number is forecast to grow in coming years, making a very valuable contribution to the Territory’s fragile economy. It shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Several local defence projects have run into major problems and delays, including a much-touted half-billion-dollar ship-lift facility heavily promoted by the NT government but over budget and now years behind schedule.
And there are other issues of concern. Calls by the NT for a bigger slice of the defence budget are tempered by a worrying increase in recent violent assaults including two alleged daylight rapes last month in the city’s CBD.
Defence insiders told The Mandarin that with assault rates up 28%, the Fyles Labor government needs to do more to improve law and order and reduce surging crime in Darwin if it wants to attract service families and build a resilient and permanent defence workforce in the Top End.
